In a dimly-lit wooden home, a paralyzed man shares the story of his paralysis, his time with a witchdoctor, and finally, his vision of heaven.
IMB missionary Nancy Potter* translates Seo’s* testimony for a visiting volunteer team from Oklahoma. As Seo shares his story, he uses a white rope, strung like a hammock, to keep himself upright.
Seo* and his family trusted in Jesus alone as Healer. Though Seo has not gained full physical healing, he has complete spiritual healing and hope for eternal life with Christ.
The volunteers came on a short-term mission trip to partner with Nancy and her husband, William.* The Potters and their national partners travel throughout a remote Southeast Asian region to share the gospel and disciple believers.
This is an area where evil spirits roam like unseen crusaders. Villagers say the spirits are looking for open windows in houses in order to ravage their health and peace of mind. Witchdoctors demand blood money—the sacrifice of animals—for their services. The Potters say they act like feudal lords who tax the vassals in their territory.
It’s reminiscent of what one might read in novels steeped in magical realism and set in an imaginary Southeast Asian feudal system. Only, this isn’t a novel.
Life after the fall
Seo and his friends were traveling through the jungle and decided to stop for lunch. Seo scaled a tree to collect orchids to sell in the local market. The branch snapped and he fell, landing on his back and breaking it. Seo couldn’t catch his breath at first, and then, when his lungs recovered, he started screaming for help.
His brother and friends finally came to his aid. They lit part of his body on fire.
Seo’s people group have a belief that fire purges one of evil spirits.
He lay on the ground, with the scent of his burning flesh, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. It took two hours to transport him home. When he arrived in his village, his neighbors lit incense and sacrificed the family’s pig and five other pigs from the village. They poured the blood from the animals over Seo’s body. This macabre act was believed to wash his sins away.
In this Southeast Asia nation, when animal sacrifices are made, the meat cannot be eaten. The carcasses are discarded, and the remaining blood is spread on an archway in the village—a fixture of every village in the area—and those making sacrifices must walk under the archway.
Seo went to a local hospital, but he was sent to a hospital in the capital city, which was some distance away. His wife was pregnant and due to go into labor that week, so he chose not to go.
Villagers told him about a powerful witchdoctor who’d heal him if he took part in his ceremonies.
Seo had to sell his thousand-dollar cow for the witchdoctor’s services, which consisted of the witchdoctor spitting on his back and placing random objects on his bed sores.
One of the witchdoctor’s rules was that he had to lay on his side until his wound festered. Seo begged to leave the witchdoctor’s home.
He returned home, feeling helpless. He heard about Christians in the area who were teaching the Bible.
“Please, tell the Christians to come and share Christ,” he told his neighbors.
Nancy and her national partner had just finished teaching for the evening. They followed friends of Seo to his home and found the whole village waiting.
“We want to believe in Jesus. Can Jesus heal us?” the villagers asked.
Nancy said they couldn’t promise God would heal them, but they could share the hope that Jesus provides. Seo’s family committed their lives to Christ that night.
Before turning to Christ, Seo* was in spiritual bondage to the practices of witchcraft. (IMB photo. *Name changed)
That night, Seo had a dream about heaven. He dreamed about God and angels in a beautiful garden. He woke up and said, “This is God. I found God.”
“I put my past behind at that point. I’m not going to give the incense anymore. I’m not going to do any of the sacrifices anymore. I’m going to follow Christ,” Seo said. “I felt peace in my heart that I never had before.”
The Potters continue to disciple Seo and his family and share the gospel with the rest of the village. Members of the community come and share prayer requests but are hesitant to abandon their animism, the dominant religion in the area. Nancy says fear of retribution from spirits keeps them from committing.
The Seos consistently share the source of their hope and freedom.
No turning back
Seo was paralyzed from the waist down, but he’s slowly regained some feeling. Though his body became bound by the trauma of the fall, his heart found freedom from the bondage that kept him and his family enslaved without hope and respite.
Before the Oklahoma volunteers left, Seo, his wife and children, the Potters, and their national partners sang a hymn that gives testament to their newfound freedom.
“I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
Tho’ none go with me; I still will follow.”
For Seo, the decision to follow Jesus was an obvious one. Once he found freedom in Christ, there was no turning back—for who would choose fear and spiritual bondage over freedom and peace? Even if no one else in his village decides to follow Jesus, he said he’ll still daily decide to follow.
*Names changed for security